The present invention relates to curtain walls used for building exteriors and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to methods of and apparatus for constructing, assembling and anchoring sill sections of such curtain walls and the curtain wall panels associated therewith.
Curtain walls are typically constructed of extruded aluminum frame support members having generally U-shaped channels (although other shapes may apply) for supporting a plurality of panel members that serve as the exterior of a building. Such panel members are most often panes of glass, and often double pane glass sections, but other paneled building materials such as aluminum, granite, slate, or concrete are also utilized. Such panel members are often of identical size and shape. However, near doors, opening windows, or other access points into the building, panel members of different sizes and shapes may be utilized.
More specifically, such curtain walls generally include a horizontal sill member having at least one portion forming an upwardly facing region (or channel) at the bottom of a wall section, a horizontal head member having a downwardly facing channel at the top of a wall section, and a plurality of vertical mullions running between the sill and head members. Panel members are supported by the channels of the sill member and the head member, and the vertical joints between adjacent panel members are formed at the mullions. In some designs, the mullions are disposed interiorly of the sill member, the head member, and the panel members so that only the joint between adjacent panel members, and not the mullions themselves, are visible from the exterior of the building. The designs do, however, vary, depending upon the desired aesthetics of the curtain wall construction. One such design is set forth and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,508, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Another curtain wall construction is set forth and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,182, also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. As set forth in the ""182 Patent, multiple panel members 20 are typically arranged side-by-side and are secured and sealed between a sill member 10 and a head member, with their vertical joints overlapping at a mullion. This vertical joint must then be sealed from both the interior and exterior of the building using both resilient gaskets and/or structural silicone, as described for reference purposes below.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic, cross-sectional view of sill member 10 of an exemplary, prior art curtain wall is shown. Sill member 10 secures a curtain wall to a structural support surface such as a concrete slab 12. The concrete slab 12 may be at ground level or comprising a floor surface of a high rise building. Although not shown in FIG. 1, a head member similar to sill member 10 secures the curtain wall to concrete slab between floors of a building or other building structures, and a plurality of mullions span between sill member 10 and the head member. Sill member 10 is typically formed as an integral aluminum extrusion. Sill member 10 also generally includes a channel section 14, an anchoring section 16 disposed interiorly of channel section 14, and a cover 18.
Still referring to FIG. 1, channel section 14 and cover 18 cooperate to secure a panel member 20 to sill member 10. More specifically, channel section 14 includes a base 14a and two legs 14b and 14c that form a upwardly facing U-shaped channel. A support member 22 rests on the top surface of base 14a. Leg 14b has a groove 24 proximate the upper end of its interior surface, and leg 14c has a support surface 26 proximate the upper end of its interior surface. Cover 18 has a downwardly depending resilient leg 28 that engages a groove 30 on the exterior surface of leg 14c. Cover 18 also has a tongue 32. Panel member 20 is supported within channel section 14 via setting block 34 and resilient gaskets 36 and 38. Setting block 34 is disposed on the top surface of support member 22. Resilient gasket 36 has a tongue 36a that engages groove 24 of leg 14b. Resilient gasket 36 is typically pre-installed in groove 24 of leg 14b during manufacturing of sill member 10. Resilient gasket 38 has a groove 38a that engages tongue 32 of cover 18 and a surface 38b that mates with surface 26 of leg 14c. Channel section 14 further includes a plurality of support legs 40 below base 14a. 
Anchoring section 16 includes a base 16a, a leg 16b, and a plurality of support legs 42 below base 16a. Base 16a has a plurality of holes 44 spaced along its length for receiving bolts or fastening means 46, and the diameter of each hole 44 is substantially identical to the diameter of a threaded shank 46a of each bolt 46. Leg 16b has a groove 48 for receiving a tongue 49 of cover 18.
The following technique is typically used to install a panel member 20 of such a curtain wall. First, sill member 10 is laid on a shim 56 in the proper position on slab 12 and is used as a template to drill holes into slab 12 for each bolt 46. One should note that shim 56 does not run continuously along the length of sill member 10. Instead, shim 56 is used at low points of slab 12 to level sill member 10, if necessary. Second, sill member 10 is removed from shim 56, and a hole 50 with a larger diameter is drilled in the place of each of the holes drilled using sill member 10. Third, a structural insert 52 is secured within each of holes 50 via epoxy or other conventional means. Each insert 52 has an internally threaded hole 54 for receiving bolts 46. A preferred structural insert 52 is sold by HILTI(copyright) of Tulsa, Okla. Fourth, sill member 10 is repositioned on shim 56 and secured to slab 12 using bolts 46. Fifth, a sealant 58 is disposed on slab 12 along both the exterior and interior sides of shim 56. Sixth, a head member similar to sill member 10 is secured to part of the building structure using the above-described techniques. Seventh, vertical mullions are secured between sill member 10 and the head member at appropriate intervals along the curtain wall. Eighth, support member 22 is disposed on base 14a of sill member 10, and setting block 34 is disposed on support member 22. Ninth, panel member 20 is then installed from the exterior of the building, typically first being tilted into the channel section of the head member, and then being dropped into channel section 14 of sill member 10. Tenth, cover 18 is installed in sill member 10, and a glazing stop is installed in the head member of the curtain wall. Eleventh, resilient gasket 38 is disposed on tongue 32 of cover 18 of sill member 10, and a similar gasket is disposed on the tongue of the glazing stop of the head member.
While such curtain walls, and other conventional curtain walls, have proved to be reliable commercial building systems, they suffer from several drawbacks. For example, securing the curtain wall members to their corresponding building structure typically requires, as described above, multiple steps at the job site. The complexity of such steps is exacerbated by the frequent requirement of shimming a sill member 10 that is not yet assembled to oppositely disposed vertical mullions, and then completing the assembly process subsequent thereto. This both increases the cost of this process an requires a high degree of quality control. In addition, installing the panel members at the building site also requires inspections during the process. These inspections must be performed by building code enforcement personnel, whose schedule may or may not be compatible with time schedules for the contractor erecting such curtain walls. For this reason, it would be greatly advantageous to provide a method of and apparatus for curtain wall construction, maximizing the availability of the structure for inspection while minimizing the inherent time delay that could be created therefrom. The present invention addresses such curtain wall assembly scenario by providing a sill anchor assembly, facilitating initial installation of a sill flashing to the building""s structural support surfaces and, in one embodiment, the subsequent installation of pre-glazed panel sections thereto in an assembly affording greater sealing and structural integrity therewith. The method of and apparatus for the assembly comprising the present invention further affords access to the various structural aspects of the building curtain wall with sill anchor assembly for inspection purposes prior to the completion of the installation thereof
The present invention relates to curtain walls used for building exteriors and the assembly of a building curtain wall with a sill anchor assembly. More particularly, one aspect of the present invention relates to a building curtain wall wherein a relatively light weight, extruded sill flashing is first provided for positioning, sealing and temporary securement along the structural floor sections of the building. The light weight flashing is easy to align, shim and seal and is adapted for receipt of subsequent structural panel sections in mating engagement therewith. These structural panel sections are preferably extruded aluminum members having screw splines formed therein and adapted for direct inter-engagement with fastener members extending from vertical mullions extending from opposite ends thereof. In this manner, a curtain wall panel section comprising both vertical and horizontal extruded metal sections securing a glass panel, or the like, may be assembled to the sill flashing, whereby the flashing becomes part of the structural configuration of the building curtain wall. The assembled flashing and structural member assembly is then secured directly to the building structural regions by threaded fasteners and the like for permanent securement thereto. In this manner, inspection of the structural connection may be made by a building inspector prior to the completion of the assembly which, in one aspect of the current invention includes an inside cap member.
In another aspects, the present invention relates to a building curtain wall with a sill anchor assembly utilizing extruded metal members that are adapted for interlocking engagement one with the other. A first vertical mullion section is extruded for interlocking engagement with a second extruded vertical mullion section, facilitating the assembly, sealing and structural integrity thereof at the job site. A sill assembly is provided for interconnecting the two mullion sections and comprises multiple extruded members providing direct securement to the mullion. In that regard, screw splines are formed for receiving threaded fasteners therein extending from the vertical mullions. In this fashion, the vertical mullions can be assembled directly to a sill assembly without the need for additional structural flange members, as is common in many prior art designs. Likewise, the cost and structural integrity of the assembly may be substantially improved by utilizing extruded screw splines in the manner set forth and described herein.
In a further aspect, the above-described building curtain wall with sill anchor assembly may be constructed with a first sill flashing member formed from extruded metal, and which may be secured to the building structure to receive a sill assembly in mating engagement therewith. A sill assembly may be secured directly to the underlying building""s structural support surface for effecting the mounting of glass panels thereon. In that regard, sections of two part vertical mullions are specifically adapted for direct securement to opposite ends of the horizontal sill assembly. In one embodiment, the vertical mullions and sill assembly may be pre-assembled at a factory with the requisite header for installation and sealing of the glazing for subsequent securement to the sill flashing present at the job site. Due to the construction of the vertical mullions of the present invention, along with the sill anchor assembly, the vertical mullions may be rotated into interlocking engagement with one another. The securement of the sill anchor assembly between the mullions may then be effected by the drilling of apertures through the sill anchor assembly and through the sill flashing into the structural building support surface in a manner adapted for receipt of threaded fasteners therein and securement thereto. Inspection of this assembly is permitted at this stage of construction because final assembly is effected by the placement of a structural cap in engagement with and between an upstanding member of the sill flashing and an upstanding web member of the horizontal sill anchor assembly.
A sill anchor assembly adapted for securement to vertical mullions and support of a curtain wall panel of a building curtain wall, said sill anchor assembly comprising:
In yet a further aspect of the present invention, a sill anchor assembly is adapted for securement to vertical mullions and support of a curtain wall panel of a building curtain wall with the sill anchor assembly comprising a sill flashing adapted for securement to a support surface of the buildings, and a sill subassembly for mounting to the sill flashing and supporting the panel thereupon. The sill subassembly includes a sill member adapted for engagement with and securement to the flashing for the support of a panel thereon, an outside cap member adapted for interlocking engagement with the sill member in securement of the panel supported upon the sill member, and an inside cap member adapted for mating engagement with the base and the flashing to define a generally tubular structural channel formed thereby. Finally means are provided for securement of the sill member to the vertical mullion in structural interconnection therewith.